RESOURCES

The Science of Happiness

This section of the BeHappy! site includes a growing collection of scientific research, practical clinical expertise, and information from the relatively new field of "positive psychology" (the science of happiness).

Included in this scientific exploration of happiness are thoughts from:

Lisa Joacobson, MAPP ... Founder of Workplace Solutions, a career coaching firm, and graduate of the Unversity of Pennsylvania's Masters of Applied Positive Psychology program.

If you're interested in this more scientific approach to understanding the happiness process, you'll be able to learn more about why and how people become more or less happy, and how happiness can benefit you - mentally, physically, financially, and personally - all based on the latest and greatest scientific research.

Like the great study conducted on 180 nuns, which showed that the "happy nuns" lived an average of 9 years longer than the "unhappy nuns". Why nuns, you may ask? Well, it's because these nuns lived together in a convent and lived the same lifestyle (same sleep and activity habits, same food intake, no smoking or drinking, etc.) and so there were no "extraneous" factors affecting their longevity. Even their "genetics" was randomly distributed, so this was not a factor in the average increase in lifespan of the "happy" nuns. Bottom line ... based on scientific research like this (and other studies), happy people live longer and have less sickness and disease than unhappy people. You'll find all the scientific evidence here.

Then there's the well-conducted Harvard study, which demonstrated that happy people (former Harvard students) earned significantly higher incomes and were more successful in their careers than the "unhappy" people. Again, studies like this, and much more, will be found in this section of the BeHappy! site.

So use this section to better understand the science - the psychology - of why we do and feel the way we do. And use the experience and expertise of these and other experts.